By Jesse Graham
MUSIC will fill the grounds of the Yarra Valley Racecourse on Sunday 23 October, with the annual Cuban Jazz Festival returning for its 13th year.
The festival, which has been run at Coldstream’s Rochford Wines in previous years, will be held at the racecourse in Yarra Glen for the first time, running from 11am to 6pm.
Festival director Alex Mitchelson told the Mail that the weather was looking fine after the valley’s recent storms, and that he hoped this year’s event would mark 13 straight years of good weather for the festival.
“Everyone loves some sunny weather – we’re all just waiting for that sun to come through, and it’s perfect,” he said.
Mr Mitchelson said the move to the racecourse meant that more food and wine providers would be at the festival, with local providers Zonzo Estate, De Bortoli, Hargreaves Hill, St Ronans Cider and Coldstream Brewery, among others, offering refreshments for festival goers.
“This really has opened up a new demographic and offer a better product and find that common thread that everyone loves,” he said.
He said the event started in the early 2000s, when a wine tour member told him that they didn’t want to leave and asked him to put music on.
“That sort of got me on the idea of setting up a little event,” he said.
“So we started with 100 people, and each year it got bigger and bigger, and bigger and bigger.”
This year, he said he was hoping 4000 people would come through the gates to listen to the jazz, R&B, salsa and commercial house music performed across the event’s four stages.
Tickets to the Cuban Jazz Festival Harvest Picnic start from $55 per person.
For more information, visit www.winequest.com.au
